John c



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN G. MGLOUGHLIN, NEW YORK, AND AUGUST W. ALMQVIST, OF BROOKLYN,ASSIGNOBS TO DEVLIN & 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLOTH-SHRINKING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 228,093, dated May 1880.Application filed November 14, 1879. i

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, JOHN G. MCLOUGH- LIN, ofNew York, in. the county of New York, and AUGUST W. ALMQVIST, ofBrooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Cloth-Shrinking Apparatus, of which the afollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to improved apparatus for shrinking large piecesof dry-goods of full lengthsay, thirty to forty yardssuch as they arereceived from the manufacturers, preparatory to making them up intosuits of Wearingapparel, in order that the latter shall not shrinkafterward, and thus become too small for the wearer.

It is well known that the greatest and most uniform shrinkage in clothsis effected when they, after being properly dampened, are left to dryslowly in the air, but the old method of wetting the goods by spongingand covering and rolling them together with pieces of cotton web ofcorresponding length and width, and then hanging them upon the series ofhorizontal bars of a large drying-rack, is too slow and expensive;besides, it requires a very large space for drying, particularly inestablishments in which a great number of pieces (each over one hundredfeet in length) have to be dampened and displayed to dry in one singleday.

In order to economize time and space, an improvement in shrinking clothhas lately been attempted, consisting in wetting it by steam, and thendrying by running it on and around revolving heated cylinders. In thislatter method, although the application of steam affords an excellentmeans of rapidly and uniformly dampening the cloth, the too rapid dryingprevents sufficient shrinkage, and a suit of clothes made from suchpieces of goods will, after being worn in rainy weather, shrink again,and thus become about 0I1 size smaller than the measure for which it wasintended and cut.

The object of the present invention is to obviate the above-namedobjections and difficulties and provide an apparatus simple in 0011-struction, light, strong, conveniently put up and adjusted, and in whichthe advantage of the old drying, by exposing the cloth displayed and atrest to the air, is combined with that of Wetting by steam, while nospace desirable for the ordinary business needs to be 00- cupied fordrying the cloths, and a great saving of time and expense will result.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation ofour improved cloth-shrinking apparatus in position for use. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the wetting apparatus of the same, seen downward from thehorizontal section indicated by the line no a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is anend view of the drying apparatus bracketed to the ceiling. Fig. 4. is avertical section of the wetting apparatus. Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, areviews explanatory of the construction of various details.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts in the several figures.

A is the wetting apparatus, consisting simply of a large zinc-linedwooden tank having movable sectional covers a, one of which is hingedand may be thrown back, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and kept horizontalbya brace, a, for use as a table, to facilitate the manipulations ofinserting and removing the cloth B, which latter, in undergoing theoperation of wetting, is suspended in deep folds LllpOD light movablecross-rods a resting with their ends in notches in the sides of the tankat suitable distances apart to prevent contact between the folds. Steamto Wet the cloth is admitted into the tank through pipe 0, and the waterresulting from condensation is drawnoft' by the faucet D into a basin orother receptacle attached to the waste-pipe d. A wire screen orperforated plate, aflplaced just above the water-space in the tank,serves to prevent the cloth (if accidentally folded too deep) fromdipping into the Water. 7

E is one of the driers, on which the cloth is received from thesteam-tank, and is of suitable length art width to support one piece ofcloth extended, without stretching, to dry. Of the driers there areseveral, arranged parallel with each other, as indicated in dotted linesin Fig. 2, and the steam-tank is mounted upon wheels to, running uponrails F, which are fastened on the floor at right angles to the lines ofdriers, so that when one piece has just been spread on one of the driersanother may immediately be placed in the tank, steamed, and spread onthe next drier, the tank for the purpose being moved on the rails Funtil directly underneath the latter drier. The pipe 0 may be a rubberhose, permanently connecting the tank to the rigid steampipe in thewall, and of sufficient length to allow of free and full travel of thetank on the rails; or it may have a coupling at c, by which it may beinstantly connected for steamin g, and disconnected (after closing thesteamcock 0) when the tank wants to be moved.

The drier E is an endless frame formed (as in Fig. 6) of wooden slats c,fastened equidistant apart, by copper rivets c, to two small rubberbelts, 0 running over four pulleys, G,

which are secured in pairs upon shafts H, journaled in brackets I,bolted in pairs to the ceilingoverhead more or less than onehundred feetapart. The sagging of a belt of such length, if supported only on theend pulleys, G, would be so great as to take up too much of needfulspace and impede the work and traffic on the floor. We have thereforesupported it at intervals along the ceiling by wooden rollers J. But theweight of the belt being thus sup ported the friction between it and anordinary pulley would not suffice to allow of its being moved with thepulley when revolving the latter, particularly in this case, where thedrying apparatus ought not to occupy more space than about three feetfrom the ceiling, and the pulleys G consequently must be of very smalldiameter. Besides this, the small size and tension and great length ofthe belts would make them liable, at the least lateral strain, to runoff the pulleys. To provide against these difficulties the pulleys G aregrooved on their faces to receive the belts 0 thus forming verticalflanges g at each edge .of the belts to prevent their lateral movement,

and the said flanges g are notchedor cut away at intervals correspondingto the distance between two adjacent slats, c, which latter projectsufficiently outside of the outer edges of the belts to lodgesuccessively in the notches g of the flanges 9, thereby preventing thebelts from slipping. The pulleys are revolved by hand by means of theendless ropes 70, working in sharp \I-grooves in the face of a lighthoisting-pulley, K, keyed on each of the end shafts, H.

In order to easily suspend and adjust the rollers J in proper positionto regulate the sagging of the drier-frame, they are mounted in smallhook-shaped bearings M, bored through to fit upon fine metallic rods L,which latter are hooked at their upper ends to eye-screws l, fastened inthe ceiling, and are secured in any desired position upon the rods L byset screws on, the whole being constructed as clearly shown in thedrawings.

The ends of the rollers J are provided with disks j, of larger diameter,to keep the edges of the cloth from accidental contact with the bearingsM, and their journals may be provided with annular shoulders or heads toprevent them from sliding out of the bearings endwise.

The pendants and rollers L M are braced against both longitudinal andlateral oscillations by a wire, N, fastened at its ends to eyescrcwsn inthe opposite walls of the room, the pendent rods L being secured to thewireN .by clamps 0, made in two parts, 0 0, fastened together by screwsP. For this purpose the part 0 has a groove formed across its innersurface to receive the rod L, and the part 0 has a similar smallergroove, at right angles to the other, for receiving the wire N, whichlatter is bent, as shown at a, (see Figs. 7 and 8,) by a pair of pliersto fit a portion of the circumference of the rod L, so that when the twoparts 0 0' are fastened together, as in Fig. 7, by the screws P, it isimpossible to slide the rod L along the wire N. p

Q is an apron, fastened at one end to two or more of the slats e of thedrier-frame E, and is of suitable length to reach down to the steam-tankA with the other end, which is fastened to 4, one of the two halves ofthe cloth-clamp R, the two halves r 1" being held together by hinges W,and secured,when closed, by a clasp, T, at either end of the clamp R.

S are little sharp points fastened in the part r to project inward andtoward the hinge. The clasp T is like an ordinary U shaped pocket-bookclasp, pivoted at t to one of the parts, 1', only of the clamp It.

When'the cloth is steamed one end thereof is placed upon the points S ofthe part 7 of clamp R (laid on the table a, as in Fig. 1) and depressedupon the said points by closing the other part, 1, of the clamp over it.The clamp R is'then locked by the end clasps, T, and the cloth hoistedup by turning the belt-wheels, and, being thus extended over the uppersurface of the drier E, is then left to dry. When the cloth is dry, andthus shrunk, the carrier E is run in the opposite direction, the clothfolded together gradually as it comes down, and, when the clamp R isreached, detached from the latter.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with a drier having acloth-clamping device, R, and a mechanism for supporting said drier andby which it may be moved, of a cloth-steaming tank, A, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of one or more drierframes, E, having cloth-clamps Rand suitable supporting-pulleys on which they are adapted to be moved,with a cloth-steaming tank, A, and a track, F F, situated transverselyto the drier, on which said tank is adapted to be moved, substantiallyas described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The drier E, consisting of the belts c and cross-slats c, incombination with the shafts H,

pulleys G, having notched flanges g, rollers J,

rods L, and bearings M, adapted to be vertically adjusted on said rods,substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. The drier E, consisting of the belts e and cross-slats e, incombination with the shafts H, pulleys G,l1aving notched flanges g,rollers J, rods L, and bearings M, secured to said rods L and adapted tobe vertically adjusted thereon, apron Q, and clamps R, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

5. The horizontal wire brace N, in combination with the pendent rods L,the roller-bracke ts M, carried thereby, and the fastening-clamps it),substantially as and for the purposeset orth.

6. The combination, with the clamp 0, made in two parts, 0 0, the formerhaving a transverse groove in its face and the latter a vertical groove,of the wire N, having the bend n, rod L, and set-screws P, substantiallyas described, and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the apron Q, of the cloth-clamp R, made in twoparts, 0' r, hinged together, the lower part, 1", being provided withthe inclined points S, and the upper part, 1, having pivoted to it theend locking-clasps, T, substantially as described, and for the purposeset forth.

JOHN C. MGLOUGHLIN. AUGUST W. ALMQVIST. Witnesses:

JOHN T. DEVER, O. SEDGWIGK.

